What you have to do is compare the situation with a similar one to highlight the poor alternative. Let's say that you are selling a kitchen appliance. You can say to your prospect customer, "I am speaking to you as a person who loves cooking delicious meals easily and quickly." 1) Scope Ambiguity for Building Rapport You have to make the comparison obvious so that the prospect can agree with you. Additionally,Cheap Denver Broncos Jerseys, the comparison should have relevance to the situation and the product you are selling. In general,Cheap Eagles Jerseys, the pattern, "I am speaking to you as" works perfectly for selling any product to any person. The second stage of the NLP sales process,Cheap Colts Jerseys, after building rapport,Cheap Jimmy Smith Jersey, involves asking questions so that you can get the sales information you need to persuade the prospect to buy your product. Let me give you examples of the use of this technique. You can readily ask the prospect, "What is missing in your production process?" Let's say that the prospect is complaining about the price of the computers you are trying to sell him. You can readily ask, "Would you use a typewriter to prepare the documents of your business? Then why use cheaper outdated computers to do your accounting/management?" In general, as long as you use your creativity to the fullest, you can come up with great questions with presuppositions. Some NLP sales experts recommend using more vivid and powerful comparisons. 2) Questioning with Presuppositions Using presuppositions in your questions is an extremely effective approach. It allows you to gain more valuable sales information and to use it more effectively. Sometimes it is a good idea to highlight a position of authority. If you are in B2B sales, you can say to a prospect,Cheap Ronnie Brown Jersey, "I am speaking to you as an expert on project management." You know that using questions, such as "What benefits do you want to get from the product?" is an effective tactic. However, you can make your strategy even more efficient with the right NLP sales techniques. This one of the NLP sales techniques is based on the main principles of this science and namely programming others to do what you want using language patterns. The more NLP sales techniques you learn and master the more successful you will become. You will be able to close more sales successfully and boost your company's profits. 3) Comparisons with Poor Alternatives for Overcoming Objection Scope ambiguity describes scientifically language patterns, in which the subject described with an adjective is unclear. I will give you an example to show you how this one of the NLP sales techniques works in sales exactly. Now you can use another three NLP sales techniques to boost the number of your closed sales. Remember that continuous learning is the key to success. This one of the NLP sales techniques is a bit more complex than it sounds. Still, its effect is amazing. It will work like magic for countering objections. Another effective question using presupposition is, "How do you want to improve your production process?" Again, you do not know whether the prospect wants to improve it or not. In general, once you get the basics of NLP, learning becomes much easier. That is why you will be able to use the new NLP techniques you learn more easily and effectively. Using the example I have above, you can say to the prospect, "Would you allocate your company's bookkeeping and accounting tasks to a genitor?" Then you can complete the pattern by saying,Cheap Camouflage Realtree Jerseys, "Then why use cheap computers with limited capabilities in your company?" This example illustrates the idea behind this one of the NLP sales techniques quite well. You are making a comparison that the prospect will never agree with. Then, you are putting the alternative to your product on the same scale. It is unclear whether you are referring to yourself or to the prospect. However, you manage to establish a connection between the two of you and to build trust. More importantly, you make really subtle flattering that is truly pleasant to the ear. You do not know whether something is missing, but you get the prospect to share with you. In turn, you can come up with a precise benefit that fills in the gap in the production process. Now I will show you three really effective ones.

3. They're willing to go to the next step, set up another appointment and continue the conversation. This is a very clear sign they are interested in you. If this important step is missed you will instantly go to the place that salespeople hate, "voicemail abyss" - the clearest sign of all that they are not interested in you. If they do happen to pick up the phone, you will hear, "I will give you a call sometime,Cheap Champ Bailey Jersey," "I am really busy can you get back to me back in a week" or "I am still interested, just not making a decision right now." They're either not interested or can't tell you the truth about what is really going on. The sales world can be a lot like the dating world. Sales, like dating,Cheap Roman Harper Jersey, takes insight, skill and discretion to know when your customer is truly interested or not. On a recent trip back from New Jersey, I had a sales conversation with two men in the airport and one of them boldly stated that sales are no different than dating. His remark reminded of a movie from a few years back titled "He's Just Not That Into You" and I began to see the parallels between dating and sales. Your potential customers may play some of the same games that are present in the dating world. Will they agree to a second meeting? Will they return your calls? Will they tell you the truth? Will they be honest about their selection process? Will they agree to take the next step? Will they play hard to get? Will they lead you on? Will they work with you until someone better comes along? 1.They're open to sharing information about themselves and their company. When potential customers are willing to answer questions about their needs, wants, pains and struggles, they're telling you that they have a problem and might need you to fix it. That is a really good sign they are interested in you. If they are unwilling to answer your questions openly and honestly, they may be playing hard to get or just not "into" you. Here's a few ways to tell if potential customers are "into" you or leading you on: So, just like dating,Cheap Laurence Maroney Jersey, your potential customers may lose interest and reject you. They may be shopping around to make your competitor jealous or they may simply change their mind. They may already be committed to someone else. They may already have an alternative solution but don't want you to go away just yet, because they're insecure,Cheap Von Miller Jersey, so they string you along. Like dating,Sidney Rice seahawks Jersey, the reasons are endless and salespeople need to see the signs and walk away. Stop calling, stop emailing, stop begging for one more meeting and stop acting desperate. Dump them and move on. 4. They're willing to ask and answer tough questions. If they are open to a dialogue that flushes out their real agenda, reasons for meeting and what their bottom line is, then they might be interested in you. If you ask tough questions that they're not ready or willing to answer and get irritated, they most likely are trying to hide their true intentions or using your for free information. Clearly they only want you for one thing and not interested in you. 2. They're willing to engage in conversation and return your calls and emails. If they have respect for you, they will listen to what you have to say and trust that your information is worthy of hearing. When you are successful at this, your potential customers are showing signs they are interested in you. If they are avoiding you, not getting back to you, being vague or not telling you the truth, they are either not interested or leading you on. You might need to dump them. 5. There are excited to meet you. When you meet them in person, they shake your hand, smile and make eye contact. Body language is an important cue and if potential customers speak to you with their arms folded and answer you with short "yes" and "no" answers, they are just not interested in you. If you get a bad vibe, trust your intuition and politely end the meeting. When your potential customers ask you questions and keep the conversation going chances are they're interested in you and might be open to second meeting. When you are creating value, being honest,St. Louis Rams Jerseys, sharing information and showing respect but your potential customer is unwilling to reciprocate, it's not worth it to spend your time on a relationship that is going nowhere. Remember it's not what you sell, it's how you sell. Sales mentoring programs can help.

You cannot say no, you have to be okey with sending them information. Otherwise they will be questioning why you don't want to send them something. If you do this well,Jason Taylor dolphins Jersey, your customers will forget all about the promise of sending them information and you will be able to send them their confirmation at once, to the email they already provided. There are two different ways to approach this, either by asking when you can call back or getting them to talk about themselves. Whenever someone gets to talk about themselves, time issues vanish. Make sure to understand why they say it and try to explain that you aren't there to trick them into anything,Cheap Victor Cruz Jersey, but to help them solve a problem. This will of course spark your interest; ask them what they do today,Cheap Tom Brady Jersey, how it is working for them and so on. Compare it to your solution and see if you cannot prove that you have one that is superior. You could also reply "Many of my customers said that before they had the chance to hear about the benefits our service provides. I am curious, have you thought about using this type of a service before?" Again, we first need to know why they aren't interested. Once you have gotten the answer you can start a dialogue and build trust, turning their reasons not to buy into reasons to listen. Asking questions like, "I am so sorry, I was just wondering,Cheap Chris Williams Jersey, how you solve this problem today?" and then listening. Once they have explained, they will be open to your reply and the time issue will be gone. I have always felt this is a great way to get their personal information. You get their email address, promise to send something, but don't hang up or leave. Keep on selling, you have promised to send them information, which makes them relax. You can now start asking them more questions about how they work today,Cheap Lawrence Timmons Jersey, how they would like things to work and what they think of your solution. 3. I am not interested What I have found to be the best approach is to think it over ahead of time. 1. Can you please send me something? This will start a conversation giving you the chance to prove your point. We salesmen are sadly often not treated like people. No one would say this off hand to a stranger they just met, but we salesmen meet it all the time. 8. I am too busy Since we usually sell the same products, as long as you don't change company, you can do this exercise once and be pretty prepared for all future meetings. 5. I have no need Ask what they do today to solve the problem or confront the issue? Tell them how your product or service could do it any better. Of course they have no need, that is why they didn't call you at once. They don't know why they should use you, or they would. 4. I hate you These are the most common objections I meet in sales and how I usually handle them. Different industries will of course have very different objections and questions, but many are similar. Do you have any objections you could add to this list? Other replies? Mindsets? What works well for you and what doesn't? Whenever you are going to sell something, be it yourself or for the company you work for,Cheao Mike Thomas Jersey, you will always meet objections. Things will not always go as smooth as one might hope and you will have to find new ways to convince your audience that you are offering quality. Please share with us in the commenting area below. Before you start replying to their objections you need to know why they want to wait. Once you know this you will be able to reply, with a reason not to wait. Since you know the benefits of your products and know why they should be using them now, instead of tomorrow, tell them that. Explain to them why waiting won't serve their purpose. These 8 complaints are the most regular I get in my industry. I have also listed our most used replies to each. I would love to hear your thoughts and the toughest complaints you face in your professional life. 7. I do not believe you provide quality It works in most cases. You will notice quickly that it is the same reasons that arise again and again to why your customers aren't interested, prepare answers for each so that you can reply quickly and professionally to each objection. 2. I want to wait In this case I love to use referrals, saying something such as By preparing this way you will be able to calmly and with focus answer any objection. 6. I use a different method What objections could they have? What could I reply? What reasons might they have to object? How to I turn that into an advantage? And so on. "Many of my customers, for example X,Y and Z, said the exact before they had the chance to hear about the benefits our service provides. I am curious, have you thought about using this type of a service before?"

It's less effective in real life,Cheap Osi Umenyiora Jersey, where developing customers shouldn't be left to chance meetings, serendipity,Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys, or to the fates. Despite achieving top web search engine rankings in pertinent categories and some benefits, my overall marketing productivity during five years of webcentrism,Cheap Joe Haden Jersey, has diminished. My Internet presence, if not huge, is ample, and certainly more high-profile than many other professional speakers and consultants I know. The lure of the Internet to such types has been obvious: No need to knock on doors or penetrate electronic fortresses with phone calls, direct mail, and faxes. Simply subscribe to group after group at sites such as Linked-In, make occasional comments, invite others to join your network, and somehow your zillion contacts will metamorphose into pure gold, without dastardly or demeaning direct selling on your part. Geeks and nerds are the ones that write code, that devise mega-sites such as Amazon and EBAY. They have found ways to monetize their social inadequacies, (Good for them!), while exploiting the same in others-that 80% of Americans, and perhaps the world's population, that are just like them, all too happy to believe that passivity and meekness will win the day, if not the deal. Society seems to have put an unjustified and self-defeating premium on getting customers through the most subtle, indirect, and improbable means as possible, through devices that Hollywood screenwriters call, "Meeting Cute." Meeting-Cute works in comedies, because audiences are wondering, "How are these two finally going to realize they're perfect for each other?" Above all, why was I all too happy to substitute REACTIVE platforms for PROACTIVE ones, while conning myself into "denial" about their respective effectiveness? You would think I'd be the last to succumb to web-infatuation. I am the author of such direct selling classics as You Can Sell Anything By Telephone and Reach Out & Sell Someone, so I am practiced at hunting instead of waiting with my mouth open for a roast duck to fly in. I've done the same, shifting much of my marketing thrust from proactive, telephone and direct-mail campaigns to more passive, "If you build it they will come" enticements, such as web sites with catchy URL's and by writing thousands of articles for Ezines. The meet-cute is the opposite of deliberately striding up to a person or business of interest and professionally, politely and persuasively introducing yourself and your product. Meeting cute is accidental, seemingly not contrived or calculated. Because it's so improbable, so oddball, it's romantic, as protagonists fight off their attraction, but ultimately succumb to destiny's call. Why is my activity,Cheap Joey Porter Jersey, and by inference that of millions of others, not yielding proportionate results? For a time I've been puzzled by a web mystery, specifically why serious and smart business people invest oodles of time and money in largely useless web-based activities such as social networking. According to Stanford research,Cheap George Blanda Jersey, 80% of American are shy, which by implication means they are introverted, relatively passive and reactive, instead of outgoing. Thus, SELLING, beating the bushes for business,Cheap Joe Thomas Jersey, is not their favorite activity. Film critic Roger Ebert describes the meet-cute as a scene "in which somebody runs into somebody else, and then something falls, and the two people began to talk, and their eyes meet and they realize that they are attracted to one another." (Wikipedia)

A detailed discussion on planning is beyond the scope of this article. Even so, there are generally three questions that a plan will answer for you. Setting goals that are beyond your reach is not a problem if you have more reasonable step goals in place along the way. Just remember that improvement and achieving goals is a journey. There are typically many steps and obstacles along the way. Action: Even with a goal and a plan, you still have to take action to carry out the plan. Building on the car with no gas example above, even if you have a goal and a plan, you still have to get in the car and start the engine to go somewhere. Action on your plan is needed. Sometimes action is an activity and sometimes it is a sacrifice. Either way,Cheap Chris Harris Jersey, there is no room for coasting. You are moving forward are your aren't. One thing for sure is that if you are costing and your competition is isn't,Cheap Andre Smith Jersey, you are losing ground. How am I going to do it? Plan: Next you need to have a plan to achieve your goals. A goal with no plan is like a car with no gas. It looks pretty, but will not take you anywhere. Your plan needs to be detailed enough to guide you in decision making and nimble enough to help you when circumstances become less than predictable. RUMBA stands for reasonable, understandable, measurable, believable,Cheap Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys, and achievable. Goals that do not pass this test will leave you set up for failure. If I set my goal too high, like high jumping 30 feet, I will not take it serious and will not be motivated by it. The same is true if I set my goal too low, like high jumping 6 inches. I will get the same result. Goals. Goals are the set point of what you want to accomplish. I want to reach $70,000 in income this year, I want to complete 5 sales today,Cheap Cardinals Jerseys, I want to make it to everyone of my child's games this year. I want to introduce you to another GPA. In this case it stands for Goals, Plan, and Action. This GPA is a proactive tool to help you be successful. Let's get right into it. What am I going to do? Remember when you were in school and there was this dreaded thing called GPA that was used to measure your success as a student? GPA stood for Grade Point Average. Teachers used it to motivate and colleges used it to qualify applicants. My GPA wasn't stellar,Cheap Fred Biletnikoff Jersey, but I understood its importance. How will I know I am being successful? In a broader sense,Cheap Alex Smith Jersey, goals define what is important to you. They are either enablers for other goals, step goals, or they are the end game of what you want to accomplish. Either way they should pass the RUMBA test and be highly visible to you when you are in the heat of battle.

POS systems have also literally revolutionized the fast-food business. In many fast-food point of sale systems, the system not only covers sales inside the restaurant and orders sent to cooks, but it also includes the drive-through window. In this kind of point of sale system, orders are sent to the kitchen, not only from cash registers for patrons inside the restaurant,Arizona Cardinals Jerseys, but also from POS terminals ran by drive-through window operators. The amount of communication needed to be performed through these kinds of complex point of sale systems has also been made more efficient by the use of wireless systems. Theses systems not only allow the drive-through operator to communicate with the driver outside, but also to send the order to the cooks in the kitchen. Restaurant POS systems perform much of the same functions as retail POS systems. They are often used to check out someone when they pay for their food. A cashier will probably implement a POS terminal that includes a cash drawer, a hard-drive,Randy Moss titans Jersey, a monitor, a credit card swipe, and a printer to produce receipts. Also much like retail POS systems,Cheap Pierre Garcon Jersey, they will be able to record data from each meal purchased to later produce information needed for accounting purposes and business analysis. Most decent sized retail stores have a point of system. If you have been checked out at a store by a cashier using a computer, you have witnessed a POS terminal that was part of a POS system. POS systems are also commonly used in restaurants and have lead to a lot of innovation in how they operate. You may have become a restaurateur recently and are wondering if you should install a restaurant point of sale system. A point of sale system, or POS system for short, is a kind of computer system used to manage customer sales and other business functions much more efficiently than had been possible in the past. Restaurant point of sale systems can also do much more and can be tailored to the needs of any restaurateur. However,Cheap Ryan Kerrigan Jersey, these systems can be expensive to install and maintain, so they are perhaps best suited for busier restaurants only. However, restaurant point of sale systems can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any restaurant. One important innovation developed through the use of these POS systems is the ability of the staff to communicate with the cooks in the kitchen as quickly as possible. An order for a meal rung up on a register at the point of sale or even entered by a waitress waiting on customers who have yet to pay can be quickly sent to a display or print-out in the kitchen. This display or print-out will tell the chef exactly what was ordered. Furthermore, it can even give her recipes or instructions on how to prepare the dish. After receiving the order,Cheap Mark Sanchez Jersey, the cooking staff also has the option to communicate back to the previous point of sale terminal. For example,Cheap Joe Montana Jersey, a chef could press a button to recall an order for a dish she has ran out of ingredients for.

Whenever a person is in an argument with someone,Cheap Leigh Bodden Jersey, they use hypnosis to get the other person to see their line of thought. Lawyers are very good at this kind of persuasion, as it is what they do for a living. To some extent, hypnosis is always involved in the sales process. A salesperson can do this unconsciously without realizing it. However, it is now being widely used in different areas of life. The sales process,Cheap Joe Haden Jersey, for instance, relies heavily on conversational hypnosis, whether directly or indirectly, to entice consumers to avail of purchases they would not otherwise buy on their own accord. Of course, not all salespeople are trained in conversational hypnosis. In fact, there are not that many people who are, which explains why there are many salespeople who are not very good at their jobs. If you are seriously considering of introducing a conversational hypnosis training program for your salespeople to improve the sales process, you will have to look for training resources. The ability to get people to buy what you sell is an amazing skill. Harnessing peoples desire for material things is not so difficult, as desire is innate in all humans. This is perhaps the biggest challenge for a salesperson,Cleveland Browns Jerseys, as not all people will readily buy something just because it was pitched to them. You have to make people think they need that product, regardless of whatever it is, as this is what increases sales. Mastering NLP is an important part of a salespersons training. Anyone who wants a successful business should recognize the importance of hypnosis as a business strategy. Using conversational hypnosis can help your business thrive even in the most competitive of markets. While manipulation through hypnosis may seem like a bad thing, it can actually be very beneficial for businesses. Conversational hypnosis is rarely covered in sales training programs but it can be a very effective tool especially for businesses who are struggling to compete in very competitive industries. If you think that your business sales process is failing, you may find that using hypnosis strategies can be very useful in improving it. When utilized properly, hypnosis will not only increase your sales but it will also improve your business relationships with your customers. Obviously reading this article causes to naturally want to discover more about this. Neuro-linguistic programming employs a conversational approach to hypnosis. NLP revolutionized psychotherapy,Cheap Bob Griese Jersey, as it significantly helped in the treatment of several psychological conditions such as depression, learning disorders,Cheap Steve Smith Jersey, phobias, and habit disorder, among others. The mere fact that you are persuading people to avail of your products and services means that you are influencing them to do what they wont do without your efforts. It takes skill and experience before a salesperson can employ this perfectly. As a business owner, you should do what is best for your business. Training your salespeople in conversational hypnosis can be highly beneficial for your business. This is why Neuro-linguistic programming or NLP is an important part of the sales process. Hypnosis is a misunderstood psychological field, as it is always equated with something negative. What most people don't realize is that everyone uses the power of conversational hypnosis even without realizing it. It is one of the best ways to increase sales and you don't even have to pay for expensive advertising methods just to go about this. The sales process need not be so difficult and complicated if you knew exactly what to do. There are several training materials you can employ to make this process easier; from videos to audio,Cheap Santonio Holmes Jersey, there are definitely a lot of options. You can easily find these materials from the Internet or you can hire someone to help you out.

However, there's a downside to not saying 'no' in sales...and in life. Rule 2. Keep your clients Your clients appreciate you, your products and your services. That's why they are paying you for being honest, candid and upfront. Plus, you'll avoid what sales communication experts call: opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the high cost in energy, money and time to do work which is outside of your core niche. If you've been saying 'yes' to all kinds of non-specialty jobs,Cheap Nick Mangold Jersey, crunch the numbers. Most likely you'll find that it's cost you a fortune in time, research, preparation and delivery. On top of that,Cheap Nnamdi Asomugha Jersey, it's cost you time out of the office,Cheap Ray Rice Jersey, sleepless nights, and the loss of jobs that are perfectly matched to your skills. You see, saying 'no' is a good thing. A very good thing. Here's why you want to be able to say 'no' at the right time. By saying 'no' all kinds of positive and good things happen. You will naturally achieve success because you'll follow each of the 4 cardinal rules-without effort. Simple math. In my sales presentation trainings, a lot of people want a script. The reason? They want to know what really works in the field. They rely on a script to avoid having the embarrassment or suffering through the pain of saying the wrong thing. Not such a great deal after all, right? What's the one word sales professionals try to never,Cheap Eddie Royal Jersey, ever say? This single word unlocks all of the 4 cardinal rules to achieve ultimate sales success. Find out here... Simply... "no." This is smart thinking...in a way. It's very smart to rely on experienced sales trainers to know what works. After all, when learning a new skill,Giants 2012 Super Bowl Jerseys, it is critical to understand the basics. It's very smart to rely on a script to help memorize product benefits, features and overcome common objections. And it's also very smart to learn from masters how to close a sale. Yes, it's true. Saying 'no' keeps you on-track, on strategy. If you're saying 'no' it means that you have a bold and uncommon confidence. You're willing to turn down clients if they don't meet your criteria. You're focused on sticking to your priorities and confident you'll find the ideal clients to achieve your targets. Rule 1. Get the right customers When you're saying 'no' to the wrong customers and clients...you're also attracting the right ones. If you fill up your energy, time and calendar with customers who don't value your services, you won't have time for the ones that do. Rule 3. Specialize your niche When you say 'no' you'll turn down work that is outside of your area of expertise. This is a great benefit. You'll get known for your highly specialized work and recognized as the person to call for your specialty. "Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough." -Josh Billings When you say 'no' to your clients, they respect your focus. Plus, they are more impressed by intelligent pushback than by a sales person who is not sincere and only seeking to please. Distinguish yourself and your company by saying 'no.' Set clear boundaries of what you are offering. If saying 'no' is awkward or difficult for you, work with an executive coach. You will discover how to set your boundaries, clarify your value, and achieve your goals. What is that one single word sales professionals hate to say? Like a script, not saying 'no' is a smart move...in a way. It's very smart to encourage positive thinking, look for opportunities, and adapt your message to your customer. If you're always saying, "No...we can't do that" it is possible that people will get turned off and stop listening. Rule 4. Bypass commodity selling When you say 'no' you set clear boundaries. You are not another apple in a pile of apples. You are unique. Your products and services are unique. This is the only way to completely bypass the dangerous territory of selling as a commodity,Cheap Barry Sanders Jersey, with your only differentiator being price. But it's also not so smart. If you rely on a script to give you common sense...if you lean on a script so that you can't remember how to speak off the cuff...if you only speak in generic scripted language...well, it's easy to see how you could lose opportunities.

3) they don't want more information. Story #2: Many years ago, a kid (too young to drive) walked a few miles from his house to a riding stable and pestered the owner for a job, and got hired to clean saddles and scrub buckets and mostly do the real grubby stuff nobody else wanted to do after school for $20 a week. The kids used the $20 to buy a used set of Earl Nightingale self-improvement CDs. The kid was Dan Kennedy. This is not an article about selling carpet cleaning. This is an article about the often unnoticed truth about what separates the winners from the Mediocre Majority in business, in any business, and in life. I just had a bunch of custom-built shelves installed in my home, turning two walls of our bedroom into bookshelves. That's because the other walls of bookshelves are all full of books,Cheap Ryan Torain Jersey, but I want to buy more 'because I'm always looking' for the next good idea. My friend says he's never visited a wealthy person's home that didn't have a big library, and that ought to tell you something. He didn't say it, but I sure have visited a lot of poor people's homes where you couldn't find a book at all. Of course, it's easy to invest in education now; I've got plenty of money. But you see,San Diego Charger Jerseys, I behaved this way when I was broke, too. That's why I didn't stay broke. To once more quote Jim, a friend of mine, says, "Miss a meal if you must, but don't miss a book." Story #3: A guy at a garage sale found a set of CDs and bought them for $5.00. The fellow selling them told the buyer he guessed they were all right, but they hadn't done anything for him. In fact, he'd just shut down his business, was selling off all his stuff, and moving to another city to take a job at a relative's company. He said, "The free enterprise system just didn't work for little guys anymore." He said,Cheap Chris Williams Jersey, "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and that's all there is to it. The guy that bought CDs for $5.00 listened to them, used them, worked with them, and started his own business. When he wrote to me two years later to tell me of making over $200,000 that year in his business, he said, "Funny thing. I was concerned about it at the time, but now I understand - you see, the business I started is exactly the same kind of business that guy I bought your CDs from got out of." 2) they do not act on ideas 1) they do not learn from information They're looking hard, every day, for some information to invest in that might give them a slight edge. Not only don't they mind being sold, they're eager to buy. Story #1: Years ago, a friend of mine was working a booth at a business show, showing off his books and CDs. About 500 people came through that booth over two days. About 400 took catalogs furtively and scurried off hastily, lest I grab them and sell them something. About 99 made small purchases. One guy handed over his credit card and said, "Ship me one of everything you've got." My friend didn't know him from Adam's housecat. But a few weeks later, he was watching a national TV program, and there he was being interviewed. Seems he was one of the most successful chiropractors in America, retiring from having built 3 $1 million a year practices, one right after the other, and now was head of a consulting firm with 600 clients each paying about $3,000 a month for his advice. That's $1.8 million a month for those of you short on fingers and toes. Let me tell you just 3 quick true stories, that may give you a bit of insight. Very early, when I was starting out doing what I do, I got some very, very good advice from a fellow named Joel Weldon, with considerable experience selling how-to "stuff" to sales managers and sales professionals. He told me, "If you want to make money at this, ignore the people who obviously need your information the most and focus on selling to individuals who are already quite successful but eager to do even better." Here's what I found out: winners live what's called THE PRINCIPLE OF THE SLIGHT EDGE; they know that teeny adjustments and refinements yield disproportionately big improvements, so they are always hunting for even one idea that can tweak what they're doing a smidgen to the good. So when I'm up on stage speaking, and I start giving a little commercial about my educational materials, these days I kind of smile and chuckle to myself about how very predictable folks are. Many think, "Uh-oh, he's about to try and sell me something and take my money, so I'll close my ears or duck out the back and save my coins. Others think, "Oh, by, he's about to offer me something I can get to multiply my coins. Bring it on, man,Cheap Rob Gronkowski Jersey, bring it on." Then I think, "Terrific - that wonderful self-selecting process, the cutting of the herd. The dumb ones who are just trying to hang on and keep the few coins they've got, will go away. The smart ones, who are committed to multiplying their pennies and who I'll enjoy having a relationship with, they'll become my customers. Couldn't work out better if I'd designed human behavior myself. I've been at "this" a long time; via speaking, giving seminars, putting out books and CDs, and otherwise trying to inform, inspire and ignite people into action on principles, strategies, ideas and behaviors likely to lead to success in business and in life in general. And I long ago stopped trying to figure out why some people alertly and eagerly grab opportunities and ideas while others are asleep at the switch. Now let me finish this long-winded, gas-baggy diatribe with one psychic prediction: some people reading this will say to themselves, "Does Kennedy think I fell off a turnip truck yesterday? Heck, I can see through this as clear as day. This is just a clever ploy to separate me from my coins the next time he gets around me or mails me some literature. I'm not going to fall for it, no sir. I'm keeping my coins." Some other folks will get it. It's all kind of fun to watch. Losers stay losers for three basic reasons: But I can tell you a few things I've learned about "reading people." For example, in a seminar setting, the ones who are first up to invest in something designed to help them be more successful are usually the people in the group who need help the least. The ones who sit,Cheap Asante Samuel Jersey, arms folded, cynical,Cheap Darren Sharper Jersey, mumbling "heard that before" and grumbling about being sold to, are the ones who need help the most. Years back, I did 3-hour seminars for doctors where a practice-building system was sold. When I met them before the start of the seminar, I used to ask for their present practice gross and their goal. Virtually without exception, the first few doctors to rush back to buy the practice-building materials already had the highest grosses in the room - and they took their armload of goodies out to Mercedes, Cadillacs, Lincolns and the like to drive home. The last few docs to ever-so-slowly wobble back to buy had lower grosses, except for the few who didn't buy at all - they had the lowest grosses of all, and drove home in old Chevys. Why was this? Because their behavior reflected their attitudes, and their attitudes controlled their lifestyles, as well as their practice's level of success or lack thereof. You see, the successful person loves being sold and tries to learn something from that by itself; then he loves to buy, because his experience has been and always is that every time he invests in education, he finds at least one good idea, acts on it, and recoups his investment plus more. The unsuccessful person hates being sold, buys reluctantly, because his experience has been and is that every time he invests in education, he gets nothing out of it and has fewer coins in his pocket afterwards. How can two people in the exact same business in the exact same town experience such dramatically different results? Clue: the education being sold and bought is the same, so it's not the causative factor. Clue: in this picture, there is only one difference.

This sharing has provided additional focus for both of us and obviously some new ideas on how to grow our respective businesses. We also both Tweet our monthly meeting to encourage others to stop by and say hello. If someone does read the Tweet, coffee is on us. This simple action of buying coffee is the first step in Phase One of the 3 Phase Sales Cycle that I share with my sales coaching clients - Attract Attention. Through accountability (A),Cheap Stephen Cooper Jersey, mentoring (M) and having a partnership (P), we are increasing the energy output efficiently and effectively. So if you are tired of working harder not smarter in selling,Cheap Tony Scheffler Jersey, then you may find how this AMP can improve your sales skills while helping you achieve your goal to increase sales. Each month,Cheap Donte Stallworth Jersey, I meet with one person where we discuss and share: What would happen if you made a commitment to meet once a month with someone who would hold you Accountable, provide Mentoring and it would be a 50/50 Partnership? What impact could this have on your results? Goals achieved for the past 30 days Future goals to be achieved Referrals Ideas to secure new clients Market trends Local business networking events Results from marketing activities Have you thought of ...? (New opportunities) Obstacles keeping us from sales success Set agenda for next meeting Most salespersons have had these thoughts: "Sales! Must have more sales! Sales,Cheap Randall Cobb Jersey! Where can I find new customers? Sales! I am just one person!" Sales are the life and breath of any organization. For without new revenue,Cheap Richard Seymour Jersey, companies would wither and die on the vine. Strategies abound about how to increase sales. Yes, many of these tips to increase income, improve customer loyalty to decrease costs are independent of each other and may be even somewhat complex. The result is the salespersons are working harder not smarter. For in life,Cheap Y.A. Tittle Jersey, many times the simplest strategies are often overlooked.

However - I get those calls as a business owner from business-to-business sales reps who spew a bunch of canned lines about improving my revenue,Cheap Dwight Lowery Jersey, cutting my costs, and lots of other things I'm pretty sure they're clueless about since very few salespeople understand how small business owners think. In an email to my subscriber list a few weeks ago I explained how a co-worker of mine, who learned absolutely nothing after three weeks of intensive sales and product training because he partied the entire time, proceeded to outsell all of us anyway because he had an attractive and pleasing personality. My point is this: Yes, you need to know your product, and you need to know how to sell. Why? Because following a "sales pitch" makes you seem FAKE. When you're in this situation, you lose the urge to follow "steps of a sale" or recite a canned pitch. You become much more comfortable with your prospect,Chiefs Jerseys, and they likewise become more comfortable with you. Combine this ideal sales situation with the fact that they already are a prime prospect, and a sale is practically inevitable,Baltimore Ravens Jerseys! So quit wasting time with people who aren't ready to buy and,Cheap Dermontti Dawson Jersey, for that reason, don't deserve your time, and above all else, drop the canned pitches and steps of a sale! But, had he attempted to go out and recite canned sales pitches, or to follow structured "steps to a sale," he would have come across as fake and not sold anywhere near as much! I hate to break the bad news,Tennessee Titans Jerseys, but it's true - sales pitches don't work. Nearly all of them. Probably including yours. But there's an even better way to make this happen: Meet only with prospects who are highly qualified and actually WANT your product or service! We've all dealt with those kinds of sales calls. Most of us have done it as consumers - the phone rings and someone is on the other end obviously reading from a script. Whether they're pitching you to switch your phone service, get a new credit card or whatever, you can tell they're not sincere. Then there are those few talented salespeople who admit (to themselves, mostly) that they may not know what they're talking about, but because they're genuine, they get my attention. You need to be GENUINE and be sure that those sales techniques you're using are mixed with a genuine personality and not recited or followed step-by-step like a robot,Cheap Dez Bryant Jersey!

In every business it takes focus and effort to reach the point where you make good profit. See to it that improvement and progression happens for your new business. Concentrate on your main objective. Once your start up is underway avoid being unduly swayed by other people,Cheap Andy Dalton Jersey, business opportunities,Cheap Von Miller Jersey, and the day-to-day challenges. Make every possible effort to keep your employees happy. The pace of this industry is frantic. Having a happy, contributing workforce will take many pressures off you. When it comes to anything involving money, carefully examine all of the options before making decisions. Remember; mistakes might compromise your success. You should always make sure you have a sufficient and solid product supply line. This will help guarantee the best wholesale merchandise suppliers will stick with you through thick and thin. Buy the right wholesale products at a reasonable price. Look for products which are popular with your customers. The bottom line is you should always remember the customers you cater to must be well taken care of. A dollar store start up may seem chaotic at first. Eventually you will get the hang of things. Make the right moves and you will start seeing income flowing your way. You do not need to have a Master's Degree in Business Administration just so you can have a successful business. You also do not need to have years and years of exact experience. What you do need is the ability to make important and smart decisions. You need to be willing to take a little time to assess the situation before making decisions. If you have decided to take on a dollar store start up,Cheap Ray Rice Jersey, there are many different actions and activities requiring your attention. In a dollar store start up you will need to assume many different roles. It does take a lot of courage and dedication to successfully handle these varied roles. You will have to take on freight handling,Cheap Patriots Jerseys, some public relations,Cheap Tom Jackson Jersey, and you should expect to be your own cashier and merchandise buyer. If you are seriously thinking about pursuing this path,Denver Broncos Jerseys, then make sure you have the determination and the will power to pour out all your sweat and tears into the start up process. Starting up a dollar store business, or any business for that matter, is going to be a challenging and at times difficult task. Here are a few tips for you to consider.

Odd question I know, but why bother? First of all, clients are going to be taking a long, hard look at their advisors along with all their other suppliers as the business situation tightens. Those they see as not offering value are likely to be in for a very hard time. The most likely pressure will be to drive down prices, and if you have nothing else to offer other than cheap prices,Cheap Chris Williams Jersey, times are going to be tough - very. However,Cheap New York Jets Jerseys, if you can offer value, the true value that matches the key value drivers of your clients, then you may well be able to demonstrate that you can help in ways other than simple price reduction. If you can help them generate more revenue, reduce their costs or reduce risk (emotional appeal), then price reductions won't be necessary. Value is a mystery It just shows you how very different people's perceptions of value can be. But then value is only value when it is perceived as such - I thought black jacks tasted great and you got lots for your money. For me that was real value at the time. My grandmother thought otherwise and used to ask me "why do you want to waste your money on those?" But to me it wasn't waste - it was great value. Which brings us to value and what it is. She used to love sprouts and would insist we ate them as they were "a valuable addition to your diet". How could anyone say black jacks were disgusting and then try to persuade me to eat sprouts! Why offer value? I didn't know quite what to say. The room went quiet. Unusually for me, I went quiet, at least just for a moment. But then it dawned on me that, together with all the other definitions the groups had come up with, that was exactly what value was....a mystery. And whilst value remained a mystery it would be impossible to sell on value. And it dawned on the group as well. They had started by believing that they were providing their customers with great value, but ended by recognising that they didn't actually know what value looked like to themselves, let alone to their clients. So they'd better find out. I can remember my grandmother always used to say to my brother and me "You children know the value of nothing!" I thought at the time this was a little harsh. For instance, I knew just how many black jacks I could get for a shilling. I knew they tasted great and altogether I thought they were great value. My Grandmother thought they were cheap and disgusting and would rot my teeth. Following that conference, we have consistently found that there is the same or similar degrees of confusion about what constitutes value in many businesses. In these increasingly difficult times that is something of a serious problem and plays into the hands of those people who see value expressed purely through price. If your only differentiation is price (and that is extremely unlikely) then your differentiation is transitory to say the least. The minute someone comes up with a lower price than yours your differentiation has gone, and so has your business. Revenue Gain. If you can show your clients that your solution will deliver a quantifiable gain in revenue,Cheap Jahvid Best Jersey, then the chances are you are delivering the kind of value they are looking for. Revenue gain is usually about the ability to sell more, or sell more at a higher price. So how can you help your clients do that? This usually means that you need to understand what your client does for their customers, and help them to do it better. Cost Reduction. Many businesses have focussed a great deal on cost reduction as a means of improving margins and profitability. As the current market situation develops it is likely that further reviews of costs will take place and, clearly, any firm that can demonstrate that they can help reduce a business's costs will be listened to seriously. However, do not confuse cost reduction with price reduction. They are not the same thing. Saving a clients' costs does not mean you have to lower your own fees. Indeed, if you can lower a clients costs in a way that other firms have not considered, this may be a differentiation that allows you to increase your fee. If you are the existing advisor you are likely to be asked to reduce your fees or pitch for the business again. Just don't forget,Cheap John Matuszak Jersey, your clients are really looking for are ways of reducing costs. Price is just the easy option. Emotional Contribution. It's amazing how many business people I see using their Mont Blanc pens and gazing at their Rolex watches. Does a Mont Blanc write better than other pens? Does a Rolex tell the time any better than any other watch? Probably not, but it does make you feel good using it or wearing it. Emotional appeal is about that and more. It's about feeling good about the people you want to do business with. It's about reducing risk and building relationships. It's about the much more subjective side of decision making. In many ways,Cheap Aaron Kampman Jersey, it's the most important part of decision making. The only person who made decisions completely logically was Spock on Star Trek. So unless you're Spock it is likely that in your own decision making there is a degree (possibly a high degree) of emotion. Your clients are just the same. But to understand the emotional side of their decision making you really need to understand them deeply. However, now is not necessarily the time to rely purely on the quality of relationships. Everyone is under pressure to review costs so don't fall into the trap of over-estimating the value of relationships you have. (but don't under estimate them either!) As a starting point to understanding the value you offer, you need to understand all the elements of "The Value Triad "as they apply to you and your business. However, perhaps more importantly, if you want to sell on value, then you need to understand the things that your clients see as valuable - their value drivers. Even within a business, different people will have different views of the value of various products and services. Think about the differences of opinion that occur in your own firm when you are making significant purchase decisions. Then think about your suppliers and how,Cheap Wes Hopkins Jersey, if they really understood the things that you, your colleagues and your business truly value, they would be so much better positioned to deal with you. And then think how much better positioned you would be to deal with your clients if you really knew what they valued (and by really, I mean really, not just your best guess!) But the problem is, as the group in Copenhagen demonstrated, we can't define value! We have developed an approach to understanding value called "The Value Triad". It brings together the key elements of value into an understandable whole, whilst recognising that different people will have different views. So think about value from your own firms perspective (or your own perspective) as we take a look at the three elements of "The Value Triad". The first two elements are the logical, objective, measurable elements: So where else can you look for value? The key starting point is in recognising that value is defined by the client, not by you. It doesn't matter one bit how wonderful you think the value is that you offer, if the client doesn't see it that way, then you aren't offering value - or at least not the value your client wants. Of course you will want to spend time thinking about your overall value proposition, the generic view of what you offer your clients, but this will then need to be tailored to the specific needs of the client with whom you are dealing. However, you will only be able to do this if you can find out what it is that your client does value. So what kinds of thing are likely to be important? But they taste great............. I can remember speaking at a conference in Copenhagen a year or so ago. As part of the session I asked the group to define value, since this is what they told me they provided to their customers. There were just over 100 people there, sat around tables of 10. On each of the tables I could see them beavering away at their definitions and I was immediately struck by the difficulty they were obviously having. I finally received about 10 cards, each with a definition written on it (each different as it turned out). It was something of a mixed bunch that more than demonstrated the difficulty they had been having. I had decided to read out each of the groups' ideas to the audience. About three quarters of the way through I turned over a card to find a definition that seemed to sum up the whole exercise. It had four words on it, the sum of the combined thinking of a group of senior people involved in selling big ticket contracts: One of the problems we have found is that not only do people have difficulty defining value; they also have difficulty in recognising its constituent parts. The instant answer is price, but price and value are simply not the same thing. Indeed, sometimes there is no obvious connection between the two at all. For example, in 1999 Tracey Emin's soiled bed, My Bed, was sold to Charles Saatchi for £150, 000. Mr Saatchi clearly saw a value in the "artwork" that few others could see. To him the value was obviously worth the purchase price although, since I can't speak for him, I have no idea what that value is.

Stay tuned for the rest of the 5 Deadly Sales Mistakes in Social Media or Subscribe to my Blog to get in advance. There are 5 deadly social media mistakes that are often made by salespeople. I have been guilty of committing all five - sometimes at the same time. As a seller it can be a challenge to stay on top of today's ever changing technology: the i-phone 4's,Cheap Clinton Portis Jersey, the Droid X's and the various Sales 2.0 programs. Add to that the growing demands of our job, the increased competition and the pressures of doing business in today's economy and it's a wonder we have time to write a profile and create an avatar! How long will it take you each week to: To calculate how much time you will need to commit to social media for it to be effective,Cheap Rickey Jackson Jersey, answer the following questions: Mistake #1: Hit and Run Social Media Businesspeople, and salespeople in particular, often spread themselves too thin. In our attempt to "cover all the bases" we don't make an impact in any of them. Many smart businesspeople walk away from social media shaking their heads saying, "it doesn't work,Cheap Deion Branch Jersey," precisely because they've stuck their toe in the water of too many different pools without ever getting wet. Here is the first deadly mistake and some tips for making sure you don't fall prey to it. Now, multiply that by 120% (it always takes longer than you think) and that's how much time you need to set aside each week for social media. Is it enough to spread over two sites? Three? Seven? Now set aside that time each week in your calendar, just like a real appointment. Because it is a real appointment. An appointment with members of the social media community. So don't let them down! Developing and implementing a consistent strategy that you will stick to on a regular basis (and I mean 40-50 weeks out of the year) is going to ultimately determine whether social media will work for you, or (as some toe-dippers have concluded) it is a major time-waster. If you can't commit to a consistent presence on Twitter, don't tweet-unless you're doing it for fun or personal reasons. If you can't follow up on a LinkedIn discussion,Brett Favre packers Jersey, don't start one. In the social media world, half measures don't get you half. They get you nothing. So get realistic about the time you're willing and able to commit to it. We've all done it. No, I don't mean leaving the scene of an accident, but jumping into a social media site and disappearing for extended periods of time. Raise your hand if you've ever tweeted 15 times in one day and then disappeared without even a glance at your TweetDeck (my what??) for 2 weeks. Keep your hand up if you've ever started a discussion thread on a LinkedIn group and abandoned it. How about loading up a video and thinking you're set for the year? Create interesting content specific to each site (tweets, discussions,Cheap Brian Orakpo Jersey, photos,Cheap Ronnie Brown Jersey, video, etc.) Post the minimum recommended number of times on each site. Read and respond to responses. Stay up to date on topics of interest to your customer or industry groups. Follow up with potential prospects or leads.

How do you find these facts about the product? Where are all of these features listed? Lots of places! Start by reading the product box, packaging and manual. But don't stop there, read catalog sheets,Cheap Rodgers-Cromartie Jersey, go online and read descriptions from the manufactures website and amazon, do a Google search and see what you can find. Facts,Cheap Dexter McCluster Jersey, otherwise known as features, will be the anchor of your demonstration. Without knowing the features of your product,Cheap Green-Ellis Jersey, you cannot determine the benefits and the benefits are what sell the product. So what are features and how do you find them? Features are the concrete, touchable parts of the product. Using the example of the Crock Pot, the basic features would include the crock,Cheap Jay Culter Jersey, the base, the cord and the lid. But dig deeper and you will find the fold-down handles, the raised lid handle, the digital display panel and the stainless steel exterior. Do your homework; find the facts, learn the features and be a product expert. The more features you can find, the more benefits you will be able to express to your customer and the more product you will sell. Isn't that the whole reason you are writing a demonstration? If you are a manufactures representative or work directly for the manufacturer or retailer, see if there are any B2B spec sheets. Get creative. Read the stamps and insignias on the product as they will give you all types of information about the product as well as leads of where to find more. The patent number alone is invaluable because every single feature will be excruciatingly detailed in the patent and guess,Deion Branch seahawks Jersey, what? Patent searches are open to the public. Reading the actual patent is a bit extreme, even for me, but what about the other info. Is the product UL listed? What does that mean? Find out! Product knowledge has always been what separates the good salespeople from the bad, the helpful store clerk from the know-nothing teenagers at Best Buy and a smart consumer from buyers remorse. All of those features can be found just by looking at the product. However, to write a powerful demonstration you have to dig much,Cheap Malcolm Jenkins Jersey, much deeper and determine what the actual specifications are. What is the weight, height, cord length, watts of power, functions of the display and the materials used in the manufacturing process? Features and Benefits. It's not the Chicken and the Egg; Features always come first. When it comes to developing a good demonstration for your product, the more features you can find, the better your demonstration will be. These are the very features that will later be analyzed to determine the benefits to the consumer.

In other words, when you can handle price concerns, concerns involving other people, and delaying tactics, you have mastered three of the more common objections customers can offer. This will help you to close more sales than you have previously,Cheap Marques Colston Jersey, leading to more sales revenues. "Your price is too high." Objections about price usually occur when salespeople present long lists of features,Cheap Leodis McKelvin Jersey, without relating how any of these solve a customer's needs, help them meet their objectives,Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys, or otherwise benefit them. Customers are not stupid; they know these additional features (which they believe they will not use) cost something to develop and include, and they do not want to pay for extra for a bunch of features which do not help them in any way (that they can tell). The best way to resolve this objection is to build a strong case for how the product or service's features actually help a customer to accomplish something which they value, and are interested in. "Let me check with another person." There are several ways around this objection. One is to ask before you begin your presentation, "Is there anyone else who needs to be here, or if you like what is presented,Cheap Malcom Floyd Jersey, can you make the decision yourself?" This will not always flush out any hidden decision-makers, but if it surfaces later, you can still ask the prospective customer: "Can I show it to them right now?" (if the presentation is short) "Or, should I schedule a time in the future to meet with them?" (better if the presentation takes longer). This approach does have the disadvantage of presupposing that someone else will want to see the presentation; it gives your prospective customers an easy out if they are not interested. However, if you do not do a good job of building interest during your presentation and in the rapport-building stages of the sales call,Cheap Jay Culter Jersey, then it is unlikely that you will be able to save the sale anyhow. Legitimate prospects who are interested will schedule a call with the other decision maker; those who do not are probably not going to continue the process, so you save yourself some time. "Let me think about it." This objection can either be a stall, or a polite way of telling you, "No." A good way to handle this is to politely ask what reservation(s) they still have,Cheap Christian Ponder Jersey, which are preventing the sale from going through. You might gently ask the customer if they are simply trying to get rid of you, or if there is something you have done a poor job of explaining, since otherwise they would have agreed to buy. If there is a legitimate concern, this should smoke it out. On the other hand, if you are dealing with a suspect instead of a genuine prospect, you will find this out rather quickly with this line of inquiry. At times, this may wind up being a bit awkward, but if you do a good job of building rapport early on, it should not be overly so. Honest customers will respect your desire to uncover their concerns in a polite, professional way. If they do not, you are probably better off without them. Objections in sales are annoying, but can be overcome with some basic understanding of why they occur. Here are three common objections, along with some ways to handle them: Copyright 2010, by Marc Mays

The more payment options you offer,Cheap Scott Bernard Jersey, the better. Most people have several different credit cards that they use. They will have one that they use most of the time so for the convenience of your customers you need to accept all major credit cards. Increase your sales instantly. Increase your sales instantly with a merchant account. Your customers would much rather pay for their purchases using a credit card. Most people tend to buy more when they have the option to use one of their credit instead of cash. By charging their purchases,Cheap Aaron Maybin Jersey, your customers can be assured that their payments are safe and secure through your merchant account. In order to accept payments by credit card,Arizona Cardinals Jerseys, you first need to find a good merchant service provider. There are many providers out there,Cheap Ronnie Brown Jersey, so you will need to do some research. Merchant providers are not all the same,Cheap Cam Newton Jersey, and with a little checking around you will be able to find a provider that is just right for your business needs. It is an important step to finding the right provider and setting up your merchant account. Some businesses still resist the idea of having to accept credit card payments. Merchant accounts are a good asset for any business that sell products and services. And having the chance to use their plastic makes it easier for them to spend a little more then they planned to. So increase your sales instantly when you accept all major card payments. Find yourself a good merchant service provider soon.

We hear all the time that we need to "increase our conversions" or "get our numbers up". But what exactly does that mean and what else do we need to know? "Conversion" is also used to describe the result of desiring someone to take a step -- whichever step you want them to take -- whether it is signing up for a f'ree report, register for a strategy session,or join a teleseminar or webinar, etc. -- the result is a desired action. After all, you need to know where you are in order to determine where you want to be.:-) Ask your webmaster or assistant to get you signed up with a service such as Webstat if you don't already get statistics about the number of visitors to your site, blog, ezine sign-ups, etc. "Conversion Percentage" (sorry, just a little bit of math here) is defined as the "number of NEW sales" divided by the "number of leads" times 100. And in the above case, "NEW sales" are people who are giving you money for the very first time (they're not repeat clients) and "leads" are people who have expressed,Cheap Vince Young Jersey, in some way, an interest in what you're offering -- whether they visited your website, called your office, sent you an email,Cheap Howie Long Jersey, etc. "Conversion" is all about turning leads into paying clients and,Cheap John Hannah Jersey, when done well,Cheap Antonio Gates Jersey, more leads turn into more clients while doing it better,Cheap Heath Miller Jersey, faster and with the least possible expense. Quite simply put, the better your conversion, the lower your new client cost AND the better your client care,Cheap Jay Ratliff Jersey, the less new clients you'll need as existing clients won't leave your service and will refer others who cost almost nothing to market to (and therefore lower your new client cost even further). "Extreme Client Care(tm)" describes the process by which the better the care you provide to your clients, the less likely they'll be to switch to another vendor. (More on this in an upcoming series.) "New Client Cost" is defined as how much it costs for you to market to someone such that they give you money for the first time. Make It Real -- My Request to You You may want to read the above paragraph again to truly absorb the logic. Before we can even chat about increasing your conversions, you need to know where you stand today. Why do these terms matter?

The sales person must provide the customer with the right information at the right time. Furthermore,Cheap Chris Harris Jersey, it must be done in a way that increases the customer's perception of need, urgency to buy and appreciation of the value contribution of the solution. The translation of abstract theory into useful applications that deliver strategic benefits is the essence of selling value. Value is created when the customer believes the technology solution will help them accomplish their objectives. To develop the customer's conviction you must integrate their learning process with their decision-making process. The more sophisticated the technology is, the greater the abstraction. Selling abstractions is more than just relating benefits. It is about linking the functionality of the technology to the desired end result, which is the intangible promise of the technology. I can only appreciate the value of the car's computer controlled anti-locking device when I understand how it improves my driving. If the sales person just explains anti-locking brakes,Cheap Ronnie Brown Jersey, I don't perceive the benefit. If she tells me that I will be a better driver,Cheap Brady Quinn Jersey, but doesn't explain how, then I won't believe her. She must help me understand the relationship between the how the technology is applied and the results that are important to me before I will value the technology. The information puzzle gets even more complex as we incorporate the relentless rate of change associated with any technology solution. As the technology evolves and its applications expand,Cheap Tim Hightower Jersey, it becomes practically impossible to stay current and informed about the solution. The body of information that the sales person draws upon to sell a technology solution is constantly evolving. Products mutate. New technologies replace old ones. Competitors' products change. Markets accelerate. Each change has multiple implications for how customers buy and the best ways to sell the solution. Technology-enabled solutions are intangible sales. People don't buy the machine; they buy what it enables. Average sales people tend to perceive technology as a tangible, so they focus on the functionality. Exceptional sales people understand that customers only care about the results the technology enables, which is intangible. This difference in perception about the nature of technology is the fundamental factor in determining a sales person's success. Selling the value of your technology. Technology is the actualization of abstract theories. The more theories that are actualized, the more powerful the technology is. For example, there is a computer chip in my car that makes me a better driver. The computer chip senses the car beginning to skid on a patch of ice much faster than I can. It automatically sends messages to the anti-lock brake system so the car responds to the changing road conditions before I am even aware there may be a problem. This simple application is the actualization of theories that span the disciplines of physics, mechanical engineering,Cheap Taylor Mays Jersey, human perception, and computer software. It would take a long time to explain how it all worked. As a car buyer,Cheap Matthew Stafford Jersey, however, I only care about the fact that it makes me a safer driver. Keeping current about all the factors that influence a technology sale is not easy. It is hard enough to keep track of the ever-changing information. The fact that you must synthesize it into strategically sequenced, customer learning experiences that build credibility and value exponentially increases its complexity. No wonder the sales superstars make so much money!

In today's hyper-speed, octane-fueled business world the outdated and traditional methods of selling are now ineffective. Yes, you are under pressure to reach your sales targets but your prospect is under similar, albeit different, pressures. He had arrived in his office at 7:15 AM and spent forty-five minutes responding to outstanding issues from the previous day. Then,Cheap Chester Taylor Jersey, for the next several hours, he hustled from meeting to meeting. A half-eaten sandwich on his desk reminded him of the minor crisis that had interrupted his lunch. Unexpected problems with their new CRM system they had recently implemented company wide absorbed his afternoon forcing him to cancel two other meetings and delay a decision on yet another project he was overseeing. He broke away from his reflections and sighed. Another three hours of work to do and I still feel that I haven't made any headway. He grimaced and dialed Brian's extension to discuss the problem in logistics. On top of that was the directive to reduce spending yet again. It seemed that the CFO was completely out of touch with reality. "How can we possibly run so lean and still cut resources?" Rick had challenged. The CFO simply shrugged and said, "That's why you get paid the big bucks." And it continued. Fortunately, Brian's voice mail was the only one Rick needed to take action on. However, his email in-box was another story. Forty-two new messages waited for him and that was just since 2:30 this afternoon. Today, like every other day, was a blur. "Rick, it's Brian from logistics. We have a major problem with the Global Software program. Call me right away." Welcome to the sales jungle! And that,Cheap Michael Oher Jersey, my friends,Cheap DeMeco Ryans Jersey, is a typical day in the life of an executive. Internal politics,Cheap Wilbert Montgomery Jersey, budget cutbacks and spending freezes, an impossible amount of work to accomplish,Cheap J.J. Watt Jersey, and limited resources. It's little wonder that they don't return your calls or seem to take forever to make a decision. Even if you have a solution that is a perfect fit for your prospect's company, it's going to take a lot of work and patience to get through to your decision maker. Put yourself in the shoes of your buyer, customer, or prospect. How would you manage their situation? 5:45 PM. Rick Johnston, VP Business Development, sank into his office chair, dialed his voice mail pass code and heard, "You have seven new messages." "Mr. Johnston, Susan Meyers from Analytic Metrics. I'd like to schedule a short meeting to show you how our newest product will save you time and money..." Delete. But the biggest thorn in Rick's side was the political battle he was fighting with Drew Strick,D'Brickashaw Ferguson Jersey, VP New Accounts. Every time Rick attempted to implement a change that would improve the company's results, Drew challenged him and attempted to derail his efforts. "Hi this is Sean Preston from HiTech Corporation. We're providers of customized software solutions that help companies like yours streamline their ordering processes. I'd like to..." Rick pressed the delete button and started listening to the next message.